A Kiss from a Prince
by pichu10176
Summary: Joker got turned into a mouse and only a kiss from a prince can break the spell. Good luck Crow! Ch1 Akechi visits his mother's grave before the election of the Prime Minister and someone tags along for the ride. Ch2 With Akechi being sick, he doesn't have the energy to keep up appearances so he chose to avoid everyone until he feels better. He doesn't expect someone to come visit.
1. A Kiss from a Prince

"Be careful! Joker just got transformed into a mouse! Any attacks he receive from the enemy will instantly knock him out!" Oracle warned everyone as she observed the situation from above.

"Squeak squeak!" Joker ran to safety of Makoto who was currently guarding the treasure that they found in Mementos. She immediately picked him up and held him protectively in her arms.

"Ah the guy is getting away! Let's chase after him!" Skull barked out as he pointed his bat at the retreating enemy.

"Understood!" Fox said as he sheathed his katana.

"Okay! Queen, Panther, and Crow, get Joker and the treasure into a safe room! We'll be right there!" Oracle said as Necronomicon lead the way to the enemy with the others trailing right behind her.

"You heard her, let's go!" Panther said as she went down the escalators to where the safe room was while carrying one of the bags full of treasure.

Queen also carried one and left Crow to carry the last two. While Crow isn't weak per say, however the treasure was heavier than he expected and gave his arms quite a workout.

He sat down on one of the bus stop benches in exhaustion, panting at the effort he made by carrying the treasure. He threw the bags right next to him. A few items might have fallen out, but he ignored it at the moment and focused on catching his breath. Akechi never knew he could be so thankful that Mona was able to transform into a bus and carry everything for them. Perhaps when they go back to the real world, he might treat the cat to some sushi for all his hard work.

"Wah! Queen let me see Joker!" Crow was temporarily resting his eyes and massaging his arms until he heard Panther's high pitch noise.

Queen held Joker out in front of her for everyone to see. Joker's little whiskers twitched as he was taking everything in.

"Oh my gosh, he's so cute! He's so soft too!" Panther began "petting" Joker. Her kind of petting looks more like she was poking him though. She managed to knock him onto his back and continued poking his stomach.

"Squeak!"

"Ah, you're right. I didn't notice at the time because we were too busy fighting." Now Queen was also poking him too with one hand while the other was holding him securely. Akechi kind of feels bad for him. Their poking didn't look that gentle and Joker seems to be struggling a bit from their attention.

Akechi wonders if they also poke Morgana too. He wouldn't be surprised if the cat avoids being touched because in reality he actually gets poked to death by the girls. Futaba does seem to like pinching his cheeks a lot too.

 _'What a poor guy…'_

Even though he tend to avoid the Phantom Thieves' social gatherings because he wasn't use to being around people his age, Akechi couldn't resist coming closer to pet Joker too.

' _Ah, he is soft.'_ With two fingers, he delicately moved them down from Joker's neck to his stomach area. Akechi always wanted a pet, but due to certain circumstances, he did not have the time to take care of them.

Akechi didn't notice, but he smiled as he continued to pet Joker. Someone else did though.

"Hmm, we might be able to transform him back! I have an idea!" Panther said suddenly as she stared at Crow.

"I'm listening." Queen said as Akechi didn't respond. He was still petting and currently being mesmerized by how silky and fluffy Joker's fur was.

 _'His Persona mask makes him look even cuter.'_ He thoughts as he started scratching Joker's head.

"We just need a prince to kiss him! So that means you're up Akechi-kun!"

"Hm?" He looked up when his name was called and saw Panther looking at him enthusiastically.

"You know those tales where the princess have to kiss the frog to have it transform back into a human! It just might work with Joker in this case!" She explained.

"I see, this is the cognitive world. It's entirely possible." Queen murmured as she glanced at Akechi.

"I-I'm not a prince!" He stammered. What is she even talking about?! This situation is getting too weird for him. Now that he thinks about it, why is he still petting Joker? Feeling awkward, Akechi slowly pulled his arm back.

"But the world sees you as a detective prince and the outfit that you're wearing reminds me of those fairy tale princes. Go go Akechi-kun! Take one for the team!" Panther cheered him on as she pat him on the back.

Akechi blushed and hoped his mask was able to cover his face so the others wouldn't see it.

"Here, hold onto him Akechi-kun." Queen waited patiently as she held out her hands.

 _'Ah, he feels so light.'_ Akechi thought as he took and held Joker in his hands. After examining the creature on his hands, he looked up to see both Queen and Panther looking intensely at him making him feel self-conscious.

"Uh, can you guys not look? This is kind of embarrassing for me." He turned his head to the side, Akechi avoid looking at them as his ears were turning red at their scrutiny.

"Oh! Sure Akechi-kun! Me and Queen will organize the treasure then. Take your time." Panther waved at him as they left.

Akechi glanced back at the mouse to see Joker staring straight at him. His face flushed as he looked away again.

He might not... hate Kurusu, but he has to kiss him? This is a little too much for Akechi to handle.

He harden his resolves as he lifted his left gloveless hand to move his mask to the side. He then grabbed Joker by the nape of his neck and let out a deep sigh as he moves in for the kill.

It felt weird knowing that he was kissing something soft, yet still alive. Usually when he has something brush against his lips, blankets or his winter scarf, it was just soft. At least it lasted for a brief moment before he felt Joker transformed back to normal.

Akechi opened his eyes to see Joker smirked at him before pressing their lips together again.

"Hmph!"

He felt Joker's hands wrapped around his waist as their lips connected. Akechi's hand was now holding onto the back of the collar of Joker's coat while his right hand was in mid-air, confused on what to do. Should he also hold Joker? Push him away? Gah! This is so confusing!

Akechi in the end did nothing. He didn't even respond to the kiss. He stood there as if a Zio spell was casted onto him and had successfully paralyzed him.

Akechi only responded after Joker started sucking on his bottom lip.

"W-w-what was that?" he asked as he pushed Joker back as best as he could. Joker still kept his arms looped around Akechi to prevent them from being separated too far. Well arm's length technically isn't that far.

Akechi's face turned red as he noticed how close Joker's face to him was. He still had his mask on too. Joker always love joking about "corrupting" the detective prince and letting him "join the dark side and that they have cookies, well, it could be pancakes for Akechi though". Ugh. Akechi didn't think he can survive another one of those jokes at the moment after what just happened.

Joker smiled as he finally removed one of hand from Akechi's waist to touch his cheek. Now can he remove the other one too?

"You started it."

"! That was for-" Akechi started to argue but Joker cut him off.

"I see our detective prince hasn't had much experience with this kind of situation. Don't worry, I'm willing to teach you. Very willing~" He said as Akechi felt his breath against his lips.

' _It already started.'_ He mentally cried as his face flushed even darker. It might as dark as his mask at this rate.

He tried his best to make his voice sound normal but it might have come out a bit husky at the beginning.

"Ah, now that you transformed back to normal, would you mind letting me go?" He asked nicely even though he wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out of it again. Damn Panther and her stupid idea. Akechi just stared at Joker's collar, unable to look him in the eyes.

"I do mind." Joker frowned, but Akechi can see the glint in his eyes when he took a peek at Joker's face when he started talking. "...but I don't want to make you too uncomfortable."

He laughs as he let Akechi go from his grasp.

Akechi glared at him as he straightened his clothes. So he knew that Akechi was uncomfortable, but ignored it. Typical Joker.

He huffed and turned to walk back towards Queen and Panther before something suddenly stopped him.

"But in all seriousness," Joker grabbed his wrist before he could escape. "Thanks for the help, Crow. I really appreciate it."

Joker let out a small smile as he said his code name.

"...you're welcome." Akechi quickly turned and walked off. He was used Joker's playful flirting, making stupid jokes, or being serious during a fighting and planning their route in a Palace. The genuine Joker, the version that he was used to seeing making coffee and listening to him chatter about random topics, was unusual to see in the metaverse. It made him feel uncomfortable. It's not a bad feeling per say, but it was….different. Akechi was not sure if he wants to understand this feeling so he does what he usually do best, he ignores it.

Joker sighed lightly at Akechi's reponse. He wished he had the courage to tell Akechi that he likes him and that he was honest with his flirting, but he was afraid that might put a damper to their relationship if Akechi doesn't feel the same.

 _'Well one day,'_ he promised to himself as he watched Akechi walk away. ' _One day I'll tell him.'_

* * *

"Did you take a picture?" Queen asked as she finished reorganizing the treasure.

"Yup! Joker will want it later. Maybe he'll trade me a crepe for it!" she giggled as she stared at the pictures. The picture where Crow kissed mouse-Joker to where Joker clung onto Crow as he kissed him.

 _'They really are adorable together.'_ she thought. Panther hoped that they will officially get together because she can tell they both genuinely like each other.

"Ah Crow, it seems like Panther's plan worked." Queen said as Panther quietly put her phone away.

"...yes, Joker was...thankful for it."

' _Heck yeah he was!'_ Panther was so tempted to say, but she knew Crow was shy with these kind of things, so her response instead was, "Ha ha, I wonder where everyone else is? How hard is it to chase down a Shadow? Wonder if Skull got lost and they had to look for him instead or something."

"Yo! I heard that Panther!" A voice came from the escalator.

Panther giggled as she stick out her tongue at him.

They got into a friendly bickering as everyone came and rest on the seats.

' _This...might not be so bad….even if it's just temporarily, their interactions are pretty interesting.'_ Akechi thought as he smiled, watching everyone.

Joker was sitting next to him, quietly watching him before deciding to speak up, "Hey, seems like you have a lot of experience with petting. Want to continue later after we leave the Metaverse?"

' _Never mind.'_

 _Author's Notes:_

Let's pretend that cameras work in the Metaverse.

I might write more one-shots with this AU later because it's cute and not very angsty as the game.


	2. A Flower Bouquet for You

Akechi could still remember how lonely he felt after his mother killed herself. When he attended her wake, he didn't notice how the small amount of people who came to say goodbye to her. It was her neighbors, coworkers, and the elderly couple, the Nakamura's, that watched over him when she went to work. The surprising person who came by was her older brother, Akechi Takashi.

When her family took her off the family registry, all of them avoided her like she was the plague. How her brother even know that she died was a mystery to Akechi, but he didn't questioned it at the time. He took care of everything, from paying the funeral services fees to greeting the guests while Akechi stood beside him in silence.

It was awkward when everyone left and it was only him and his uncle in the room. Akechi avoided speaking to people, afraid that he might start burst out crying even though he was emotionally drained. It didn't feel like he had any tears left to shed, his eyes were still swollen and puffy from crying the previous days. Luckily, Takashi understood his difficulty and only rubbed his back as he drank his beer in silence. Afterwards, he drove Akechi home and told him to get some rest before disappearing off. He was going to stay at a hotel since there was no guest room in Akechi's house and Akechi didn't want to be the one who say that his mother's room was empty now.

It was so weird, sleeping in an empty home. No mother to read him a bedtime story. No more sweet kisses on the forehead before she turned off the lights. No more wishing him a goodnight before she heads back to her room. He changed into his pajamas, turned off the lights, and slipped under his bed covers. It was so quiet. It never used to disturb him before.

He didn't understand. He didn't understand anything at all. Why did his mother died? Was she not happy? Did she think about him at all before taking her own life? Wasn't it supposed to be him and his mom together against the world?

Akechi felt his eyes get watery and hurried to wipe the evidence off his face. There was no one who will hug him and tell him everything will be okay. That person just left him two days ago.

He pulled the covers over his head as he cried into his bed. No one was able to heard his sobs.

The next day was the funeral, it was a quiet bright morning. After the funeral, Nakamura Akane gave him flowers to place by his mother's side. He thanked her as he took them from her old aging hands and looked at them, he saw how pretty they all looked together. Light pink cherry blossoms were his favorite flower with a lone white Camellia which was his mother's favorite. He didn't know the meaning behind her flower until later, increasing his hatred for Shido.

He chose Sakura because his mother always spent one afternoon every year to take him to enjoy the cherry blossom viewing. She always look pretty when the petals landed on her hair and falling all around her. She always looked happier on those days too, the shadows beneath her eyes were a little lighter, her smile just a little bit wider. Akechi treasure those days deeply in his heart.

Now that he looks at them, he doesn't feel his usual happiness. He's just reminded of the fact that his mother won't be there next year to see the new pink flowers on the trees with him anymore.

Akechi quietly placed them right next to her head. He finally let out a tiny smile. She looked paler than normal but still managed to look pretty with the cherry blossoms around her.

His uncle closed the coffin and they brought her to the cremation room.

Akechi started breathing fast as her coffin went inside the cremation chamber. He could feel the tears moving down his face as he tried to slow his breathing.

"Are you alright Goro?" his uncle asked.

"A-ah…" Akechi tried speaking but started stuttering instead. His face scrunched up as he tried (he really did!) to stop himself for embarrassing himself in front of his uncle.

His uncle seemed to understand what was happening and led him out of the room. He rubbed his back when they were outside.

"Focus on taking deep breaths." he said softly as he continued to rub Akechi's back. "Follow my lead." He instructed Akechi to copy his breathing by taking a deep breath, holding for a few seconds, then releasing it. Akechi followed a few times until he deemed it was enough, that Akechi stopped his double breathing after taking in deep breaths.

"Are you good now?" He asked.

Akechi nodded and apologize for inconvenience that he must have caused him.

"It's not a problem. I understand, take your time." He said kindly as he stared at Akechi.

Akechi was finally able to look at his uncle. Before this, he avoided looking at anyone directly in the face. He never saw his uncle before his mom died and saw that he also has light brown hair and kind smile that his mom used to have too. Will...he be living with him now? He seems like a nice person.

Akechi hesitantly started to ask him questions about his life. If he was going to live with him, then he should know more things about him!

Takashi responded to all of his questions as they waited for the cremation to finish. After it was done, one of the staff interrupted them to call them into another room.

On the slab was the ashes and bones of his mother.

Akechi stepped back in horror at seeing his mother's remains.

"Goro, look at me and breathe. We have to do this for your mother." He said as he grabbed and hold Akechi's hand.

"We're going to be doing it together. Don't be afraid." He smiled as he led Akechi to her ashes.

There was a metal tray with an urn sitting in the middle above the ashes. Takashi grabbed a pair of chopsticks and explained what was happening. He handed another pair of long chopsticks to Akechi as he told them that they will grab the bones starting from the feet first and place them into the urn, this is to make sure Akechi's mother is not upside down in the urn.

His uncle told him that this is the only time that people could pass things from chopsticks to chopsticks. Akechi tried not to think too much that he was grabbing his mother's bones with his chopsticks as he waited for his uncle to take it from him. It was a slow affair but his uncle was telling him stories about his mother, making time go by faster.

After they finished collecting every single bone and the ashes were collected into the urn, they went home.

As they were putting her urn onto the table as a temporary spot, the doorbell rang.

Both of them looked at each other before heading towards the door. His uncle opened it and the person turned out to be a lady from the child social welfare services. She said that since Akechi had no family, they were going to placed him in an institutional home.

He was confused. Isn't he going home with his uncle?

His uncle argued that they have to do the 49 days memorial service and that Akechi had to be there for the first 7 days.

Her counter-argument was that he need get use to his new life and the other kids who will be living in the institutional home with him.

Akechi's breathing stuttered. He wasn't staying with his uncle?

He left the room as they continued to argue on what is going to be his future for the next few weeks.

He walked back to the room where his mom's urn was, his feet padded silently through the house.

Akechi sat down, put his arms onto the table, and rested his head on top of them as he stared at the urn.

As long as he could remember, Akechi has always seen his mother stare off into the distance. He asked her what she was thinking about at first and she always responded that she misses his dad and hope that he returns to them.

First his dad, then his mom, now his uncle. No one wants to be around him.

When his uncle returns to the living room to talk to Akechi about his living situation of the next few days, he just responded by nodding numbly and giving very short answers. He didn't bother asking personal questions anymore, what's the point if they weren't going to be around each other? He wouldn't be surprised if they never saw each other after this was all over.

* * *

Living in an institutional home was completely different from his old home. It was loud, there were always kids crying in the background, and it was an absolute chaos to be in.

Akechi wasn't particularly close to any of the kids in the home. Everyone seems to be doing their own thing or had their own groups already. No one seems interested in the new kid.

So he kept to himself. He read books, watched television, and played on the swings by himself while watching everyone else interacted with each other. It felt like he was an viewer, watching a show or movie, no one bothered talking to him, all but one that is.

Someone new came to the institutional home. She was a young lady who was one of the caretaker and a wonderful person. Her name was Watanabe Yui. She always took the time to talk to him and keep him company when he was eating and playing.

He wouldn't be surprised if she left though.

Later she announced to everyone that she was leaving to concentrate on getting her college degree which was only after a year that he arrived. He knew it was going to happen eventually, but it still hurts.

She said she was going to keep in touch with everyone as she smiled widely and waved at them before leaving them, leaving him.

She didn't.

* * *

Akechi eventually stopped bothering trying to reach out to other people, to make friends, to let anyone get close to him. Everyone will end up leaving anyway, why bother making an effort for just a temporary feeling of happiness. It will just make it hurt more when they finally decide to leave.

Even though he thought that, he couldn't help but to laugh along with the rest of the Phantom Thieves, let his guard down a little, and hang out with them even when it wasn't related to the Phantom Thieves.

It was strange.

He didn't dislike the feeling, but he was afraid when the other shoe was going to drop. When will he be force to see them leave him?

Even though he was dreading the day when that arrive, he still couldn't stop himself from enjoying their presence.

The day when Akechi will take his revenge upon Shido was slowly approaching, he wants to visit his mother at least one more time before that though. He already has the hard evidence of Shido's shady dealings with the Yakuza and other corrupt people. He also has gotten victims to speak up about their experiences to his sexual assaults and his threats to make them keep quiet.

Akechi had accumulated a lot of evidence in the past two years and it helped a lot that he was a young well-known detective. He was able to use the police database when he needs to do research for his cases. While Shido might have a few higher-ups from the police in his pocket, the evidence of his crimes has not been thoroughly deleted as he would have hoped. Akechi was able to put together the little information that were still there and make sense of it all.

But the nail in the coffin will be when he reveals that he was the illegitimate child of Shido's. Akechi doesn't care if this would ruined his own reputation, as long as Shido goes down, he was willing to sacrifice anything and everything for his plans. He wanted, no, he needed to see Shido's face as he reveals his parentage. Would he looked shocked, angry, or something entirely different? Akechi couldn't wait to find out.

He was now waiting until Shido became Prime Minister. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Shido's reputation will never be able to recover from this. Shido will suffer from the public's hatred and be force to become isolated from everyone, just like his mother. Akechi swore on his life to make Shido's life as miserable as possible that death would be a better choice than living. Akechi couldn't wait to see his face when someone he disregarded as worthless gets the best of him.

He couldn't help but to smirk at the thought of everything going according to plan. He wanted to visit his mother's grave at least once before all of this though so Akechi went to visit the flower shop in the Shibuya underground mall.

"Welcome, what can I help you with today?" A male's voice called out.

Akechi was busy looking at the premade flower bouquets as he responded, "I would like to purchase a small flower bouquet made for a deceased family member. If it's not too much trouble, could you put a white Camellia in there too? It was my mother's favorite flower."

"Sure, just give me a minute to make your order."

Akechi had always debated putting white Camellias in the bouquet, but ends up doing it every time. While he hate the meaning behind that particular flower, she did love it. He always decide to put aside his selfishness when he visits her. It was unfair to her if he made the day about himself.

"I'm done, your total is going to be 980 yen."

Akechi finally turned to look and nearly stepped back in surprise. His eyes blink rapidly a few times, taking in the person he was talking to for the past few minutes.

"Kurusu-kun?"

"Haha, you finally noticed? I was waiting to see when you will finally look up." Akira chuckled.

"Ah, my apologies." He blushed slightly as cursed himself for being too oblivious to his surroundings. He put his briefcase down and pulled out his wallet to pay for the bouquet.

"Stop being so formal, we're friends now." Akira chastised him as he smiled.

As they exchanged money and the bouquet, Akira asked him, "I'm going to get off soon, could I come with you to visit your mom?"

Akechi's eyes widen in surprise. This was the time someone had ever ask to accompany him when he's visiting his mother's grave.

Apparently he took too long to respond that Akira raised his hands in defense and said, "you don't have to accept of course! I don't want to pressure you or force myself into a private matter!"

He slowly lowered his hands and placed one behind his neck. He laughed sheepishly. "It's just...I was curious in meeting her since you mention her before."

It was surprising that he remembered. Akechi only mentioned his mother once and he was still unsure how the conversation started that he began revealing a little bit about his past.

"Oh, it's not that, I was just...surprised that's all. It's the first time someone asked me that question that it caught me off guard. It's fine. I would love to have your company Kurusu-kun."

Akechi let a small smile as he said this. His mother would love to know that he has made friends now and one of them was visiting her too.

Akira blinked quickly a few times before giving his own smile.

"Okay, could you wait a few more minutes then? I'm almost done with my shift. I just need to clean up then we can go."

"Sure."

Akechi picked up his briefcase and walked outside the shop and leaned against the wall besides the shop. He took the time to fully look at the bouquet. It was quite wonderful. There was a few white Camellias, Lilies, Chrysanthemum, pink carnations, and many other types of flowers that Akechi doesn't know the name of, but it looked well put together and the flowers complimented each other nicely. Akira did a wonderful job on it.

"I'm ready."

Akira came out in his normal outfit. It was starting to get chilly outside so he wore a black jacket over his outfit. It was surprising that he didn't see Morgana in his bag. He decided to bring it up as they walked to the train station.

"Hey, I just noticed that Morgana isn't here, where is he?"

"Oh, sometimes he watches me work, other times he likes wandering around the mall. I told him that Ann was going to be here today so he went to go see her. I'll just give her a quick text telling her I'm hanging out with you today so I'll come back later to pick him up."

Akechi chuckled at the thought of Morgana running to Ann and acting all cute and cuddly while everyone else in the mall can only hear him meowing. His crush towards Ann was strange, but adorable at the same time.

"I see. Well we will be going to the Aoyama cemetery." Akechi told him they climbed the steps leading to where the train station platform was.

"Oh, I heard that place looks beautiful during the cherry blossom season."

"Yes, it is." Akechi said with a sad smile. "I always visit her at least once during during that season. It was our tradition to view the flowers together when she was alive too."

"It sounds like a wonderful tradition." Akira said. He wished he was able to hold Akechi or at least his hand and say something comforting. He just kept silent after that as they waited for the train to arrive.

They stepped onto the train and sat on their seats as Akechi said, "Ah I didn't meant to make the topic depressing!"

"No, not at all! I'm glad you were able to share that with me." Akira smiled at him.

Akechi couldn't help but to smile back.

"Oh I forgot to say, the bouquet you made was beautiful, I was wondering how long have you been working at the flower shop?"

"Since the beginning of August, it was originally for a request from Mishima. We heard that people were being assaulted in the mall and wanted to know more details so I worked there. It turned out to be fun so I continued working there when I have free time." Akira shrugged.

He was really nice, well, the Phantom Thieves are too, but Akira was the one who goes the extra mile and talks to people that look like they were being troubled by something. He was willing to work part-time jobs and go undercover to help understand the situation better before tackling the situation. Akira really was a great person, he acts genuine in his actions that Akechi wants to believe in his words. The words that they are friends, that he was interesting in knowing more about Akechi.

But he can't. Too many times he has been betrayed by people he thought he could trust. No more.

"I see. Do you have any interesting stories while working there?" Akechi asked.

"Hmm..." Akira thought about it for a few seconds before he had a smiling and grimacing expression on his face. He started talking about when he started working there, how lost he felt with the various types of flowers that existed. There was a customer who recently received a love letter and he wanted to respond yes with a beautiful flower bouquet. He requested big bright flowers to how much he likes the lady and how their relationship will be colorful and full of adventures so Akira did what he asked for with his best abilities. He put primrose, yellow tulips, and sweet pea in the bouquet. His manager didn't hear the request so she handed the customer the bouquet with no questions and thanked him for his purchase. She later asked him what the customer's request was.

Akira found out that the bouquet he made meant desperate one-sided love and goodbye. Uh, woops.

He had her look closely at his work the next few times he came into work and had to research online the meaning behind flowers to avoid another embarrassing situation in the future.

Akechi couldn't help but to laugh at the story. He tried hiding it by disguising it as a cough but it didn't work as well as he would have wanted.

"Ah, ha ha… sorry, I didn't mean to laugh this hard." His shoulders were still shaking as he tried to repress his chuckles, but when he imagine Akira's horrified face as he found out that he gave the worst kind of bouquet ever known to man to a customer made him start laughing again.

Akira pouted as Akechi started another round of laughter, but he couldn't keep up appearances, seeing Akechi smile with unrepressed joy made him happy. He rarely see Akechi smile genuinely, this is quite a treat for him and he was going to treasure this moment forever. Hmm.

*click*

He snapped a picture of Akechi as he was trying to recover, but the smile remained on his face. Akechi turned to the sound and saw Akira playing on his phone.

"Did you just take a picture of me?" He narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, I just remembered that I don't have a picture of you on my phone. I need to update your contact picture." Akira said as he was doing just that.

"I could've given you one if you had just asked."

"You probably could, but I wanted a candid photo. You can take one of me too if you want." Akira put his phone away and threw a peace sign as he stared at Akechi.

"...you know that's not a candid shot right?"

Akira let out an innocent smile as he tilts his head in "confusion".

The train's speaker announced that they were in Aoyama now. A few people stood up to leave the train and Akechi threw Akira a dirty look as he picked up his briefcase between his legs and followed the crowd.

Akira chuckled as he place his bag on his shoulder again and walked behind Akechi, trying not to lose him in the crowd.

They walked out of the busy train station onto the streets of Aoyama. Akechi peeked behind him, just to make sure Akira was still there, before heading off in the direction of the cemetery.

Akira was curious, he never really walked around Aoyama before He just walks straight to school and the train station. Due to Aoyama being the wealthiest neighborhoods, everything in the area was out of Akira's price range. Now that he has more money coming in from his Shadow negotiations and part-time jobs, maybe he could finally start exploring the area more. Maybe with Akechi as a date one day he hopes.

As they reached the cemetery, Akira was amazed by the sheer size and scenery of the place. It looked really pretty in the fall, he bet that it would also look gorgeous in the spring when the cherry blossom season starts. All the trees still had leaves on them and they were vibrant in color. They ranged from a sunny yellow to a bright orange-red.

They were walking through the cemetery before Akechi suddenly stops in the middle of the pathway.

"What's up?" He stood next to Akechi while peering at his face.

"Ah, would you mind holding the bouquet for a moment? I need to grab a wooden bucket and ladle. I must be more out of it than I thought..." he muttered. Akechi looked quite embarrassed that he forgot such a simple matter as he was slowly handing out his flowers to Akira.

Normally Akira would totally be into the situation, his crush giving him flowers, but he didn't like how upset Akechi currently looked.

So he offered, "Hey I can just do it for you. You can just hold onto the flower bouquet and I'll grab the bucket."

He did see it earlier when they were walking into the cemetery. The walk wasn't too far either.

"No, I couldn't do that to a guest and you would have to carry the water too. That's very impolite to make a guest do that." Akechi argued.

"Well I offered so it's not impolite and besides, we're friends. I know you would do the same for me." He said as he smiled.

"Ah-" Akechi looked like he wanted to continued this topic so Akira sped walked towards the entrance.

"Too late, I'm heading there now."

"!" While Akechi frowned at Akira who was walking while ignoring him, he couldn't be helped but feel warm inside. Someone was willing to do something troublesome for him even when he said it was alright. People usually stop asking and let him continue on with his tasks after he claims that he was fine and didn't need any help.

It was strange. It actually feels like Akira genuinely wants to be his friend.

' _Would it be so bad to have one? He is reliable, kind, and always willing to help his friends.'_

Akechi's frown faded and he slowly smiled at Akira's back. It wouldn't be so bad. Akechi walked closer towards Akira, not wanting him to run all the way back to Akechi's original spot.

"I'm back." Akira announced with the stuff in his hands.

"I apologize for the inconvenience Kurusu-kun. I'm still willing to switch if you like." Akechi looked concerned about him. It was kind of cute. He wished he could sneakily take a picture right now of Akechi.

"No. I didn't do this for your apologies." Akira pouted.

"?" Akechi looked at him in confusion.

Akira looked at him like he was waiting for something.

Akechi thought about it for a second before a lightbulb appeared. "Ah... then thank you for your help Kurusu-kun."

Akira beamed at him making him blush in return. He quickly hid it by turning around and walking towards to their destination. Akira managed to see it before he turned and Akechi's ears were still red.

"This place divides up the graves and each location has tap water in the front, luckily, her grave isn't far from the tap water so you won't have to carry it for long." Akechi explains as they walked.

"I see. That's pretty smart."

"Yes, they organized this place pretty well."

They walked for a little bit before Akechi said, "this is the location. The tap water is over there." He pointed to the left where it was located. Akira missed it by being too busy watching the leaves falling gracefully from the trees and looking at Akechi's behind. Heh.

"Oh, thanks." he said.

Akechi waited as he filled the bucket and they continued on their way. He stopped in front of a grave.

"Here we are." He said as he unravels the wrapping paper of the bouquet. Akechi places the flowers in the empty built-in holder in front of the tombstone. He then proceeds to open his suitcase to toss the wrapping paper in there before taking out some incense, a cloth, and a brush and putting them on top of his suitcase.

"You can put the bucket down now." He asked as he folded his jacket up to the elbows.

Akira nodded as he did just that.

As Akechi was busying himself with scrubbing the dust and stains on the grave with the tap water, Akira put his bag down also and started pulling the weeds out from around the grave.

He saw Akechi opening his mouth and said quickly, "Two hands are faster than one." Akechi looked like he wanted to argue, but stopped himself last minute before nodding. Heh. A small victory.

After they finished cleaning the grave, Akechi lit some incense and they stood up put their hands together in prayer.

"Thank you mom for helping bringing me into the world. Please continue to watch over me and offer guidance and protection whenever I need it." Akechi hesitated before continuing on.

"...I've brought a friend here today. His name is Kurusu Akira and ...he's everything you would want in a friend. I'm lucky to have him so you don't have to worry so much about me." He said quietly. Akira had to strained his ears to pick up on those words and it made him flush in pride. Akechi always seem surprised whenever Akira use the word friend so hearing him say that made Akira's heart swells in happiness. It feels like he was getting through with him and that he was acknowledging their relationship.

"Goro is such a sweet person." Akira said after Akechi finished talking.

' _Goro?!'_

Akechi turns to look at him in surprise before he remember that he was suppose to be paying his respects and look forward again. He probably didn't expect him to say anything, but how could he not after the huge compliment he was just given?

"I enjoy being with him. He's hard to resist, especially his cute face. It's super effective. Although on some days when he comes to visits me, he looks sad sometimes, I promise we will make a lot of good memories together that eventually one day, he will only want to smile when he sees me. I promise to take good care of him."

Akechi looked really annoyed and it looked like he was tempted to smack Akira, but wasn't able to at the moment. His eyes showed his vow with how fierce they looked, but he couldn't stop his face from blushing bright red. After the incense finally stopped burning, they cleaned up the area and Akechi put everything back into his suitcase.

"Oh, you are allowed to dump the water over there by the trees." Akechi pointed.

"Thanks! I'll be right back then, don't leave without me." Akira grabbed the bucket and left Akechi's side.

Akechi turned to face his mother's grave.

"Soon. The day when I will reveal all of Shido's crimes will be coming soon. I won't stop until he pays for everything he has to done you, to us, so please just wait a little longer mom." He promised, staring solemnly at the grave before picking up his suitcase along with Akira's bag and started walking towards Akira.

After Akira finished pouring out the water from the wooden bucket, they proceeded to walk to the front of the cemetery and placed the bucket down with the rest of them.

"Thank you for your help and your presence today. I'm sure mom enjoyed seeing you for the first time." Akechi said as he handed back Akira's bag to him.

"It was nice. Maybe we can invite everyone else also to view the flowers next year in March when we come to visit your mom next time. It could be our tradition." He replied as he took his bag and set it comfortably on his shoulder.

"Yeah. I would... like that." If everything went well, Akechi wouldn't mind celebrating his accomplishments with them and telling his mother the good news. Akechi let out a smile as he thought how infectious the energy the group would bring to the place and how his mother would love it.

He remembers something important. "Oh yeah."

Akechi's hand flew so fast and hit the back of Akira's head.

"That's for saying all those things in front of my mother!" Akechi's nose scrunched as he recalled everything Akira said.

"Ouch!" Akira rubbed his head before looking at Akechi. He might have deserved that but still, that hurts!

"But they are all true! I meant all of it! Especially the cute face part!" He grinned as he ran to the train station and he heard Akechi running after him.

"Why you! Get back here!"

Author's Notes: I made an original character because otherwise, I'm not sure how the funeral fees will get paid and whatnot when the family member gets disowned. I tried looking it up, but couldn't find the details. :\ I hope I didn't make Akechi's uncle seem pervy because he seems really nice to Akechi.

This story got more depressing than I thought.

White Camellia represents waiting in Japanese culture. Akechi's mom genuinely loved Shido and was waiting for him to change his mind.


	3. The Perfect Mask on All Day Everyday

Akechi harshly coughed into his arm. After he finished coughing, he could taste the thick liquid of blood in the back of his throat as an after effect.

' _Great.'_ he thought as he weakly crawled out of bed to wash the nasty copper taste out of his mouth. He also needs to grab some medication, water, and tissues. Best time to do everything at once he suppose.

Being sick is such a shitty feeling especially since the deadline was coming up soon. Akechi has been staying up longer than usual and combined with his horrible eating habits, this was bound to be inevitable. However, why couldn't he have gotten sick after the elections and Shido was locked away in jail?

He sighed as he grabbed the medication behind the mirror, left the restroom, and headed to the kitchen for a glass of water.

Akechi casually grabbed the box of tissues on his table as he walked back to his room. As he put his water and tissues on his nightstand and made himself comfortable on his bed, he heard a noise coming from his phone.

He should ignore it and try to focus on getting better but his curiosity won out. He pick up his phone and saw that he received a text message from the Phantom Thieves.

 _'But of course.'_ He sighed as he opened the group chat.

They wanted to do a last minute study session today since the Shujin exams will be starting tomorrow, but he knows how those eventually turns out. They study for an hour or two then slack off for the rest of the time. Makoto would try to get them back on track and it would work… for a few minutes before Ryuji would start zoning out and making small talk to Ann or Akira and will effectively distract everyone and the cycle would keep on repeat until they go home for the day.

Yeah… he definitely doesn't have enough energy to last half a day to put on a fake smile and pretend that he really doesn't want to cough out a lung every five seconds.

His fingers quickly typed his reply that he was busy with the paperwork from his detective agency and thus he couldn't make it this time and for everyone to enjoy themselves.

The Phantom Thieves were quick to respond. They told him to not work too hard and to come see them if he has time after he's finished with all of his work.

He smiled a bit as he saw those messages, it felt nice to feel included. Akechi doesn't know if their replies were just out of courtesy, but nonetheless, it made him feel warm.

He was about to turn his phone on silent when he received a private message from Akira.

 **Akira:**

 **Everything okay? I saw that u didn't look**

 **so hot a few days ago when u visited LeBlanc.**

' _Shit, he remembered.'_ Akechi desperately needed some coffee on that day so he could pull another all-nighter to catch up on all of his homework. While he has permission to skip school for his job, he was still required to do all the classwork just like his other classmates.

He remembered clearing his throat a few times, he also might have coughed once or twice when he was there… but he didn't expect Akira to notice anything off about him on that day. Akira wasn't the one who served him coffee that day! He came downstairs and talked to him for a few minutes before heading off to wherever he usually goes at nighttime. Maybe Akechi should follow him one of these days to figure out this mystery...but he digress.

Akechi tries to remember that night and can't recall if Akira asked about his health on that day or not… damnit, this illness is taking its toll on him and his memory.

He sighed before deciding to admit the truth to Akira. Akechi doesn't want him to continue pestering him. Akira was pretty good at wearing down on his barriers and he doesn't have the patience to try to brush him off like he usually does. Now Akechi has to find the right words to downplay his illness, but he can still use it as a good excuse to avoid seeing everyone. He doesn't want to look weak, but he doesn't have the energy to pretend in being strong either.

 **To be completely honest, I haven't been**

 **feeling well recently. I want to spend**

 **today concentrating on recovering and**

 **also, I don't want to potentially get**

 **anyone else sick so I'm not going to be**

 **joining you guys. Have fun in my stead.**

 **Akira:**

 **That sucks. I'll send u pictures throughout**

 **the day so it won't feel like ur missing out**

 **on anything.**

 **...please don't, I need to rest and laughing at**

 **the group's silliness wouldn't help with my**

 **situation.**

 **Akira:**

 **:( ok…**

 **Ill still take pictures though and show it to u**

 **the next time we hang out.**

 **:3**

 **...do as you like.**

He turned off his phone and put it down on his nightstand before opening his medication bottle, taking out two pills, and quickly swallowing them with a long sip of water. He breathed out slowly as he put the glass down, hoping the pills could magically cure his illness so he could continue with his work. He waited a few minutes before sighing in defeat.

It didn't work.

He shuffled underneath the sheets and placed his head on his pillow.

Akechi closed his eyes and tried falling asleep, however certain thoughts plagued his mind. He really hated getting sick. The same thoughts always sneak up on him when he's feeling weak and vulnerable.

Thoughts surrounding the circumstances of his birth and doubts if his revenge plan was going to work.

He usually manage to avoid thinking about these sort of depressing thoughts by being busy and overworking himself that he would just go to sleep instantaneously due to being exhausted. He never dreams if he goes to bed exhausted. It might not help with the bags under his eyes, but that's what makeup is for.

Unfortunately, he can't, or rather, shouldn't do that this time if he wants to recover faster.

Akechi hopes that none of his nightmares, or even worse, memories comes to him today while he's sleeping. His behaviour is usually more...volatile after those moments and there was one time where he actually lashed out at the SIU Director. They were having their typical one-on-one meetings about which television shows he should go on to discuss the Phantom Thieves and how to demote them and their actions. The Director subtly said that his only worth on the team was his charisma and young, pretty face.

Normally he would be able to use his fake laughter, act all naive, and pretend that those words don't actually stung. Akechi would have hinted at the man that he would be able to prove himself if he was able to do more than the bare minimum. However, that day was not one of those days.

He was basically forced into being an errand boy most of the time by grabbing coffee for the older detectives and filing away all the paperwork. He has handled some of the cases and worked alongside some of the other detectives on the more challenging ones, usually by doing stuff they don't want to do or have time to do. This didn't really bother him though. This job doesn't matter a lot to him because he was just using it to find dirt on Shido, but hearing those words, especially so soon after his mom's death anniversary and him remembering all those times she would look sad and stressed out before she finally died, he blew up. The words just came out of his mouth. He didn't think about the consequences of his actions for once and to be honest, he didn't regret it.

Akechi also told the director that he knew about all the forging evidence and if he didn't want Akechi to report it to the public, to essentially shut his fucking mouth.

The SIU Director might've turned pale and said something to defend himself, but Akechi didn't care and turned to leave the room.

While they still make him do simple errands, at least the director doesn't make those stupid little comments about Akechi's usefulness anymore. He still pales every time if someone would make a remark about Akechi in a negative way. Akechi wouldn't do anything other than smile, but the director always seem uncomfortable to look at him after that.

He was also easily able to be excused from work for a sick day now if he was feeling down after a particular bad memory or nightmare so something good came out from the confrontation, he smiled as he nuzzled his pillow.

Akechi could feel his eyelids becoming heavier as he drifted off to sleep.

He dreamt of his old house with his mom beckoning him over for a hug before his surroundings scattered into dust. As the dust slowly disperse, his home was replaced with the institutional home. While it looked newer and more modern compared to his home, it also looked colder. There was nothing that differentiate it from another building. Nothing about it represent home; it doesn't have any stickers on the windows or doors, glow-in-the-dark stars on the walls, or scattered toys left out in the living room. There was no proof that there were kids had ever lived there.

Kids were quietly walking back to the home, looking down at the ground as they walked to the house. Everyone knows that this isn't where they truly want to be. They rather be back with their abusive or neglectful parents instead of being with these volunteers who always leave them in a few years. Akechi wished that he also had another option. No one would want to adopt a 'broken' child after all and he never saw his uncle again after his mother's funeral.

In the background, the sky was cloudy. It looks so dark, like it was going to rain soon. He wonders when the last time he saw the sun.

A kid bumped into him, muttering sorry as he continued to go inside the institutional home. Akechi focused his attention on his 'home' and began to follow the faceless crowd. At least this was better than having nothing...right?

After some time, he woke up to the sound of knocking on his door.

' _Shit.'_ His eyes struggling to open as he felt his cheeks were wet. Akechi quickly wipe away his tears and yelled out "coming" as he left the bed. His shout caused him to burst into a coughing spell. He grabbed onto a tissue after it ended and wiped his mouth.

Akechi was confused. Who would bother to visit him at the moment? It's Sunday, so he doubt it would be his school and he asked for the day off from work so no one from his department would stop by. Maybe Sae? He works pretty often with her and they actually spend time outside of work to relax during or between cases. While they weren't on a case together at the moment, it doesn't stop them from hanging out from time to time.

Akechi turned on his phone and took it with him as he went to the restroom to clean himself up. As he washed his face, he heard the sound of notifications coming from his phone. He quickly glanced at who texted him: the Phantom Thieves (Why are they on their phone? Aren't they all right next to each other, studying?), Sae wishing him to feel better, and Akira, who said he was coming over. His latest message said that he have just arrived.

Well that solves the question on who's here.

Akechi looked in the mirror, he fixed his hair and was glad that his eyes weren't puffy from crying unconsciously. Akira would definitely question him about it acting all concern. He's a good person like that. Someone that anyone could be proud to have as a friend...but, could their relationship be defined as friendship? Akechi doesn't feel like he contributed enough for it to be called a friendship. He feels like he's only taking and questions if he was just taking advantage of Akira's kindness.

Akechi wonder what he wants. He already told Akira that he was sick, so why would he bother coming over? Was this related to the Phantom Thieves or was it a personal thing? They have been hanging out more often lately after visiting his mother's grave.

It was strange though, why would he want to visit Akechi if he was sick? They couldn't go out and if they stayed at his house, he wouldn't be able to be a good host at the moment.

Oh god, what if Akira wants to watch a movie or something and he falls asleep in the middle of it?! Is there a way to politely deny someone entrance?

Akechi's face paled as his hand slowly unlocks the door and paused stiffly, his fingers barely touching the doorknob. He was unsure on what to do.

"Hello?" A muffled voice can be heard from behind the door.

' _Shit. Ugh I can't find a reason to not open the door, not after I announced that I was already coming to the door. Maybe I could make him leave after an hour and tell him it is because I don't him to catch my cold. My answer will depend on what he wants to do. Please don't let this be another movie marathon...'_ He mentally groaned as he frowned.

Akira had been insistent on making Akechi watch all the popular movies from childhood 'til now after Akechi accidentally blurted out that he never watched anything other than what the schools showed them, when he was in his mother's home, and institutional homes.

The face Akira made back then was pretty funny. It was what he would expect from Sakamoto, well a more milder version of what Sakamoto would usually display to be exact. Akira's mouth actually dropped a bit as he looked at Akechi in horror.

Akechi didn't expect him to declare that they were going to have many, many movie marathons until he catch up on "life". Sakura was there too and was already naming all of the movies that were necessary to watch.

They had a few already and it was quite enjoyable. He wished that movies in general were shorter though. He didn't regret watching them per say, but he felt like it ate a lot of his time. He always felt like he could do more by trying to find more evidence of Shido's crimes, but never having enough time to investigate all of the possible links. While he doesn't think about this during the time he spends with Akira, afterwards when he's walking home, he always has a mix feelings of happiness, regret, and frustration.

He shouldn't be spending time doing such trivial things, but when Akira calls or texts to meet up with him. Akechi always find it hard to say no to him. He wonder why that is...

He will ponder over it later, but right now he should open the door for Akira.

Akechi took a deep breath before putting on a smile as he opened the door.

"Sorry for the wait. I turned off my phone so I wouldn't get _unnecessary_ notifications while I was sleeping." Akechi makes a subtle jab at Akira, he wonders if he caught it. He spoke even softer than normal, not wanting to set off a coughing spell.

He couldn't help but to feel a bit annoyed at him. Why does he want to come over when Akechi wasn't feeling well? He just wants to recover in peace and quiet.

"Hm, I wonder who could that be? Sounds like a pest." Akira replied.

"Yes, I guess you can call that person that."

He grinned. "Anyways could I come in? I have some stuff for you."

Akechi tilts his head, he looked to Akira's hands that were holding his school bag. He hid his grimace. Was that bag stuffed with movies?! It looks pretty full too... he hopes Akira isn't planning a whole day movie marathon.

"Sure, I just want to let you know that, while my illness isn't severe, I don't want to possibly infect you especially before your exams. I highly don't recommend you staying here too long Kurusu-kun. I hope you don't think that I'm just trying to make you leave because I don't want you here." He said with a regretful facial expression.

He turns his head a bit and tried to cough softly into his arm. Unfortunately, it only made him want to cough even harder and louder but he managed to hold the urge back. Akechi was a bit surprised that he managed to talk that long without coughing between his words. Go him.

' _Please leave so I can cough in peace!'_ he mentally pleaded.

Akechi felt bad that he was lying to him, but technically he wouldn't welcome anyone's presence at the moment.

He moved to the side to let Akira into his apartment.

"I won't stay long." Akira reassures him as he walked in and took off his shoes, leaving them neatly in the corner.

"I made rice porridge for you. I would've brought over curry, but I don't know if having something with a lot of spices will be the best idea if you have a sore throat. I also brought Pocari Sweat and shoga-yu (ginger and honey tea). I drank both of them before when I was sick and I believe they helped. Not sure which one you would prefer though."

He was stunned. Akira….made something for him? It wasn't surprising when Akira made him coffee (Akira asked him a few times if he wanted curry, but he always rejected it) when they were already at LeBlanc and all the ingredients were there already and ready for use. But this was totally different. He went out of his way to prepare something different and took the time to get to his apartment to deliver it to him. It was touching. He did not expect this and Akechi originally wanted him to leave too. He felt guilty for that thought and at the same time, he felt this sudden urge to bring Akira close to him and hug him.

His hands twitched as he resisted the feeling. It wouldn't be nice to make someone who cooked for him sick. He needs to give him a nice thank you gift when he gets better.

"Th-thank you. I didn't expect this." Akechi stuttered as his face flushed lightly as he closed the door and followed Akira inside.

"Have you eaten yet? I made it just before I left LeBlanc so it should still be warm." He said as they both walked towards the kitchen. Akira has been to his apartment before so he knows the basic layout.

Akechi briefly skimmed his memory for the day and can't remember if he ever took the time to eat something. The only time he left the bed was when he had to go to the restroom.

"Ah, now that I think about it, I haven't eaten anything all day." He briefly checked the time on his phone. Crap, it's already past 6 in the evening?

"Still have that bad habit? You're not going to recover if you don't take care of yourself properly. I don't mind cooking for you until you recover. Maybe even after that too." Akira grinned as he unzipped his bag and took everything out.

He hopes that his illness made his face flushed already because he definitely does not want to show Akira that his words affected him.

It was just a joke...right?

"I'll think about it." He said as he laughed weakly.

"Don't take too long, I won't wait forever." He winked as he went into the kitchen for something. Luckily Akira didn't see the dark blush Akechi had, which he was thankful for. He definitely couldn't pretend that it was his illness that was causing it.

Akechi coughed and cleared his throat into his arm as he waited for his face to cool down.

"Hm, your illness must be more serious than you said it was if you still have your arm covering your face after you already finished coughing. Maybe you should go back to bed after you eat." Akira said with a hint of concern in his voice as he returned from the kitchen. He carried a soup spoon and 2 empty mugs.

"I brought the food in a glass container. It's still pretty warm, but do you still want to reheat it?"

"No, it's fine. Thank you." He was surprised his tongue was still working due to how dry it was when he saw Akira removing the lids from the containers. Everything looks and smells wonderful.

Akechi could feel his eyes get teary and it's not because he is sad this time. He felt the warm liquid drip down his face as he smiled and he quickly turned while announcing that he was going to wash his hands. He hid in the restroom as he let out a watery laugh.

What did he do to deserve such a wonderful friend?

He took his time cleaning his face and hands again before heading out.

As he came back, Akira probably saw how red his eyes were and asked if he was alright. He laughed it off saying there was something in his eye (nothing was wrong, everything is perfect right now).

They both sat at the table. Akechi thank him for the meal and picked up the spoon. He dipped it into the soup, taking the top layer of the soup, lightly blowing on it before putting it in his mouth. While the taste has been dulled due to his illness affecting his taste buds, he could still taste the simple yet delicious flavors that Akira has put into it. Perhaps when he feels better, he could finally mustered up the courage to ask for Akira's (mild) curry. It was sad that he has a food blog and he can't handle spicy food.

"It tastes lovely. Thank you for taking the time to make this." Akechi gave him a genuine small smile as his eyes light up when he took another bite.

Akira looked a bit flustered as he nodded silently while sipping his drink.

It wasn't very long before Akechi finished his food.

"Which drink do you want, Pocari Sweat or tea?"

"I'll take the tea since drinking something warm is suppose to be better for my throat."

Akira poured the tea into the mug as he said, "Oh, that makes sense. I'll just put the Pocari Sweat in your fridge then."

Akechi was tempted to stop him. He doesn't want Akira to see his almost empty fridge, but Akira moved too quickly before he could even say something.

Well, Akira didn't comment on it when he came back, thank goodness.

"I almost forgot, how did your study session go?"

"It was...productive...kind of?" Akira squinted, trying to find the best words to phrase that they barely studied and spent more time trying to make latte art. Surprisingly, Yusuke had a harder time pouring the microfoam into the espresso drink. Well, maybe he was a fast learner but he was nothing compared to Futaba. She was meant to do art with coffee (or she might have watched too many videos relating to this topic). Akira has never done it before (like Sojiro would teach him something fashionably current) so he took awhile to pick it up. He was very proud of his fern art. Maybe he should train himself on how to make a heart symbol for Akechi the next time he comes by. Akira probably can't be in the same room after serving it (his guts isn't that high), but it sounds like a cute romantic idea.

"...what happened?" Akechi said in a deadpan voice.

Akira nervously chuckled as he explained his afternoon. By the time he finished his story, Akechi also finished his drink and set the mug beside him.

He let out a chuckled. "Figures. You guys never seem to stay 'productive'. Poor Niijima-san." He smiled as he shook his head.

"Did she give up this time and studied on her own?"

"Ha ha, the words giving up aren't in her dictionary. She did cave in though to watch for a bit when we were practicing our artwork."

Akechi smiled into his hand. That does sound like her. Trying to be stern yet she can't stop her curiosity from peeking out.

"Since you're finished, I'll wash everything."

"No, that's alright—"

Akira already gathered everything and was walking to the kitchen.

 _'Dang it Akechi, why are you so slow?'_ He gritted his teeth in frustration at how slow his movements and thought process are. He would normally be on top of everything. Making his guest do his dishes, how useless of him.

"It's fine, you're sick." A loud response came from the kitchen. Was he able to sense Akechi's low self-esteem issues coming into play?

"But you're a guest…" he argued weakly. He really needs to thank him for all this. It's so awkward having nothing to do while Akira was cleaning up his mess, so Akechi kept his hands busy by fumbling with the napkin. He debated going into the kitchen and talking to Akira as he was cleaning, but he might be too embarrassed watching Akira do all the work while he just sit there idly and relax.

After a moment, Akira comes back out with his dried containers and snapped the lids back on before putting them back into his bag.

"I'll be leaving now. I just wanted to bring you something to eat since you already don't take care of yourself normally, I got worried that you might have forgotten when you were sick too."

Was the after effects of the food and drink still there? His chest feels very warm throughout the whole duration of when Akira was here, but it seems to be affecting his heart immensely at this very moment. It didn't hurt exactly, but it felt a bit uncomfortable. He ponders about this feeling as he stood up.

"Akira, I want to thank you for everything today. You didn't have to do all this." He said gently as he walked Akira out.

"It's not as much has _having_ to do it as it is to _wanting_ to do it. Besides you're my friend, of course I would want to help you get better. We still need to watch more movie marathons after all." Akira grinned innocently.

Akechi felt warm, his chest felt like it was going to burst with all the warm feelings Akira was giving him...until he heard the last sentence. Cool, cool dread immediately replaced it.

"Ah... of course." He opened the door of his apartment to let Akira out.

"Hm, your response doesn't feel very excited. We don't have to watch movies if you don't really want to." Akira said hesitantly as he frowned while putting on his shoes.

Those words. Akira was giving him a way out, but why does he have to look so disappointed while saying all that? Akechi felt guilty for putting that expression on his face and quickly said, "No no! It's fine. It's just...I'm not used to staying still for so long…"

He decided on telling a half-truth. He does prefer moving around and being active. They walked outside his apartment and Akira was thinking about what his said.

"Hmm, I guess watching 3 movies in a row is too much. I'll decrease it to 2 movies per marathon then."

"Ah...thanks." Akechi guessed that's a bit better? He'll take what he can get.

"I know, I'm so nice." Akira boasted as he puffed his chest up and crossed his arms, his facial expression looking satisfied before he ruined it by snorting and they both ended up laughing.

"Ha ha your acting skills is just as bad as Ann." Akechi said as he chuckled.

"Woah, wow! That's just harsh."

"You're right, I need to apologize to Ann, it's even worse than hers."

Akira gasped and grabbed his chest in pain. "Saying it once, it can be taken as a joke, but twice I might start believing that you're serious!"

"Hm, who knows...I might be" Akechi returned the innocent smile that Akira gave him a few minutes ago.

Akechi wondered if he should give Akira a hug. Is that too forward? He might get him sick though if they are in such close proximities, but he wants to show that he appreciate Akira going out of his way and doing all of this.

Akechi closed his eyes as he took in a deep breath, trying to cool his nerves.

 _'Actions speak louder than words',_ he thought. He breathed out and opened his eyes. Feeling determined, Akechi's hand reached out.

Akira looked confused when he closed his eyes, but his look was replaced by shock when Akechi took him by the hand.

"I am serious though, thank you for today. I'll do something for you when I feel better, I promise." He looked adamant about this as he covered Akira's hand with both of his.

However, all Akira thought was, ' _oh my god, he's going to kiss me.'_ So he was greatly disappointed when Akechi smiled and said night before heading back into his apartment.

 _'I'll take my reward now.'_ He mentally cried outside the empty hallway.

Author's Notes:

I moved Sae's available palace date to an earlier time. I know the Shujin exams start a week after Okumura's palace deadline. So this means her palace starts a few days right after Okumura's confession.

I don't remember minor details anymore so I had to look up the wiki for director. He was apparently blackmailed to join Shido because they knew his team was forging evidence for awhile.

Omg while I was writing this story, I forgot the term institutional home and almost wrote internment… :x Totally not the same thing!


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